PRIMARIES OVER, ACAP KEEPING AN EYE ON MIDTERMS

On the heels of a successful fall fly-in, ACAP is still eyeing the shifting sands of the fall election. While Democrats are still on the run, the loss by moderate Delaware Republican Mike Castle to Tea Party candidate Christine O’Donnell and the decision by Senator Lisa Murkowski to run a write-in campaign against the Democrat and the Tea Party candidate that won the Alaska Republican Party’s nomination have definitely changed the dynamics of the Democrat’s efforts to keep the Senate. Over the weekend, representatives from the Administration tried out their new line of attack – suggesting that the Republican Party is purging its independent voices and replacing them with “extremists.” We’ll see if that strategy can move enough of the electorate concerned about a stalled economy, sky-high national debt, and a country moving in the wrong direction.

While Republicans keep telling the voters that they want to “repeal and replace” the health reform law, they are finding that the numbers just won’t add up with a Democratic president in place. So they have decided to take a different approach – defunding the law’s enforcement and programmatic spending. The first shot was taken last week when Republicans supported an amendment to use $11B from the law’s Prevention fund to offset the cost of repealing the law’s new 1099 tax requirements. While the amendment failed, it certainly shows the approach that Republicans will take if they assume control of Congress next year. One bit of good news – changes in Medicaid cannot be made through the appropriations process so the expansion of Medicaid is likely safe for at least two years (but still two years before the changes take effect.) President Obama and some third-party spenders also seem to be getting into the act and going on the offense trying to sell the law. But with few Congressional Democrats embracing the reforms they voted for, it’s questionable how much this new effort will have an impact.

The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, created by CHIPRA and expanded under the Affordable Care Act, has a new website at www.macpac.gov.

ACAP PLANS COME TO DC FOR SUCCESSFUL FALL LEGISLATIVE FLY-IN

ACAP held its 8th Fly-In on September 13 and 14. Over 40 people attended, including 11 ACAP health plan CEOs, from 22 ACAP health plans and representing 13 states.

After lunch and a lobbying briefing, attendees were sent to the Hill on Monday afternoon and all day Tuesday. Together they held nearly 60 meetings to educate Members of Congress and their staff about the importance of Medicaid and safety net health plans.

The fly-in was a great opportunity to thank Congress for the passage of health care reform and to continue building strong relationships with Members and their staff. ACAP’s top legislative priorities included the Medicaid Continuous Quality Act, Actuarial Soundness and Medicare Advantage star quality payments.

Fly-in materials are all available in the Member Support section of the ACAP website. Thank you to all ACAP members who attended! 

HHS STAKEHOLDER CONFERENCE ON EXCHANGES VIDEO

ACAP participated in a one-day conference that HHS hosted on issues regarding implementation of the Exchanges. Stakeholders discussed several aspects of Exchange implementation, from the needs of consumers and employers to general operations, including eligibility and enrollment of participants, plan qualifications and the role of the Exchanges in promoting delivery system reform. Senior Administration officials from HHS, Treasury, Labor and OPM were in attendance to listen to stakeholder feedback.

ACAP CEO Meg Murray was on a panel that discussed the design of the Qualified Health Plans. While ACAP has not yet come up with any formal positions on these topics, Meg did touch on the issues that face the Safety Net Plans as they try to enter the Exchange.

To access the video from the conference, go to http://www.hhs.gov/ociio/initiative/exchanges_video_8-30-2010.html.  

MELANIE BELLA APPOINTED TO COORDINATE MEDICARE, MEDICAID COVERAGE DUAL ELIGIBLES AS NEW DIRECTOR OF THE FEDERAL COORDINATED HEALTH CARE OFFICE

Donald Berwick, M.D., Administrator of CMS, announced on September 13th that Melanie Bella will join the Center for Strategic Planning (CSP) as the Director of CMS’s Federal Coordinated Health Care Office. Most recently, she has been senior vice president for policy and operations at the Center for Health Care Strategies, where she worked on dual eligible issues. Her new office will work to integrate benefits for beneficiaries who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid and improve the coordination of care by improving the health care delivery systems. The office, established by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, will work closely with the Center for Medicare and Center for Medicaid, CHIP and Survey and Certification senior leadership and staff, as well as other federal agencies and states’ Medicaid programs to improve and integrate care for dual eligible beneficiaries across the country.

Melanie served as Medicaid director for the state of Indiana from 2001 through 2005. During her tenure, one of her most notable accomplishments was spearheading the creation of the Indiana Chronic Disease Management Program.

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ACAP PLANS MAKE MODERN HEALTHCARE'S 2010 BEST PLACES TO WORK IN HEALTHCARE

ACAP plans CalOptima in California and Cook Children's in Texas have been selected by Modern Healthcare as one of the Best Places to Work in Healthcare for 2010.

The 100 healthcare organizations selected are currently listed in alphabetical order. Modern Healthcare will reveal the ranked order of the 100 Best Places to Work in Healthcare at a banquet honoring the recipients on October 18, 2010 and in a special supplement to be published on October 25, 2010. The alphabetical list is available here.

 You can watch this year's video announcement and learn more about Best Places to Work in Healthcare Educational Conference and Awards Gala.

PEGGY OEHLMANN JOINS ACAP ASSOCIATE MEMBER MARYLAND COMMUNITY HEALTH SYSTEM

Peggy Oehlmann is now the Director of Program Management for Maryland Community Health System. In this position, she will be responsible for: the development and implementation of the organization’s strategic plan, creating new policies related to organizational direction and management, enhancing integration of clinical quality improvement into organizational policies, identification and development of new revenue sources, assisting health centers in developing new access points and service capacity, collaborating with community partners and regulatory agencies, and supporting the organizations public policy and advocacy initiatives. Peggy worked at ACAP for several years as the Director of Quality she can be reached at moehlmann@chipmd.org

MEETINGS

REGISTER TODAY: ACAP ACO MEETING

ACAP has scheduled a one-day meeting on Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs.) The meeting will take place in Chicago, IL on Wednesday, September 29th from 8:45 am to 3:15 pm. Ingenix Consulting is under contract with ACAP to serve as faculty for this meeting as well as the two scheduled webinars (September 7th and September 22nd at 3 pm ET) and to prepare a paper at the conclusion of the series that will focus on the ACOs and the relationship with safety net health plans. The meeting will focus on both the factors in developing an ACO as well as the issues for a managed care plan to consider in contracting with an ACO. Please note that the content for the 2 webinars is different.

• September 7th at 3pm ET: Accountable Care Organization Basics for Health Plan Leadership (The presentation and a recording from this webinar is available on ACAP website.)
• September 22nd at 3pm ET: Accountable Care Organization Basics for Providers and their Partners (The presentation from this webinar is available on ACAP website.)

The meeting will take place at the Hotel Allegro Chicago (171 W. Randolph Street | Chicago, IL 60601 | www.allegrochicago.com.) The meeting will take place at the Hotel Allegro Chicago. The date to reserve a room at the group rate has passed but you should still be able to book a room by calling the hotel at (800) 643-1500. Please note that ACAP cannot guarantee hotel and group rate availability.

Please register for the meeting using the following link: https://www.regonline.com/2010_acap_accountable_care_organization_mee_886531. A tentative agenda and detailed discussion guide for the meeting are posted on the ACAP website.

RESERVE YOUR ROOM AND REGISTER TODAY: FALL BOARD MEETING

ACAP’s next Board Meeting will be hosted by the Monroe Plan for Medical Care in Rochester, NY. The Board Meeting will take place all day Thursday, October 14th. On Friday, October 15th, Ingenix Consulting will be facilitating a working session that addresses the challenges and opportunities of Health Benefit Exchange participation. This will be a strategic session but you are welcome to register plan staff that you feel would benefit. Friday’s meeting will end by 3 pm. You can now register for the meeting at: http://www.regonline.com/2010_acap_fall_board_meeting.

• Agenda

In addition, ACAP and Monroe Plan are planning a golf and wine events beforehand on Wednesday, October 13th. For both, attendees would need to arrive in Rochester by 11 am on Wednesday. The wine event attendees will drive to several local wineries for lunch and wine tastings. The golfing will take place at the Cobblestone Creek Country Club. Both events will be done in time to return to the hotel before meeting the others for dinner on Wednesday night at 7 pm.

The meeting will take place at the Woodcliff Hotel, you can reserve your room now by calling the hotel. State that you are with the "ACAP group" to be eligible for the group rate. Please note that ACAP cannot guarantee hotel and group rate availability and the cut-off date to be eligible for the group rate is September 29, 2010.

Woodcliff Hotel & Spa
199 Woodcliff Dr – Fairport, NY 14450
Phone: (585) 248-4810
Reservations: (800) 3653065
www.woodcliffhotelandspa.com

SAVE THE DATE: ANNUAL QUALITY MEETING

Please hold the date for ACAP’s Annual Quality Meeting which will be hosted by Denver Health and Colorado Access in Denver, CO. The meeting will begin on Monday, November 15th and end by noon on Tuesday, November 16th. Rooms have been set aside at the Brown Palace Hotel and Spa (321 17th St | Denver, CO 80202 | www.brownpalace.com)for a group rate of $179. You can reserve your room now by calling the hotel at (303) 297-3111 and ask for the ACAP room block. Please note that ACAP cannot guarantee hotel and group rate availability. The cut-off date to be eligible for the group rate is October 13, 2010.

SAVE THE DATE: FALL MEDICARE MEETING

Please hold the date for ACAP’s Fall 2010 Medicare Meeting which will be hosted by Denver Health and Colorado Access in Denver, CO. The meeting will follow the Quality meeting and begin after lunch on Tuesday, November 16th and continue through mid-afternoon on Wednesday, November 17th. Rooms have been set aside at the Brown Palace Hotel and Spa (321 17th St | Denver, CO 80202 | www.brownpalace.com)for a group rate of $179. You can reserve your room now by calling the hotel at (303) 297-3111 and ask for the ACAP room block. Please note that ACAP cannot guarantee hotel and group rate availability. The cut-off date to be eligible for the group rate is October 13, 2010.